Good Morning, Leslie! I see you did your homework and found us a place to converse, where others can join in. I will be certain to pass this address on to others with whom I've been corresponding!

First and foremost, I want to thank Leslie for her help with MY questions- she really is a people person, who believes wholeheartedly in auxiliaries and their function and purpose in the fire fighting world. She is a great resource, and I look forward to learning more from her and other women out there like her.

With that said...

I recently joined my auxiliary. My husband had been with the department for seven years, and I felt it was time to get involved. I'm still learning exactly what our auxiliary does, but here's the list I know of so far (in no particular order):

As I mentioned, that's all I know so far, but I'll post more as I learn more.

One of my goals has been to grow the auxiliary- we are 14 members right now- but I see a division in the department between the "members' wives" and the auxiliary. I'd like to see that line blur. With some prompting, the group graciously has created a "membership drive committee", on which I am actively serving.

As such, I am looking for any information on ways to attract new members. We are starting with a mailing, and from there...?

My question- do all departments have annual banquets where they have different "awards" for the firefighters- top responders, most improved, years of service, etc.? And if so, does the auxiliary honor its own?

I am the president of the Tye VFD Aux. We are a year old and right now we are down to only 5 members - with only 3 that are really active. We started with 10.

Unfortuneately, most of this is due to low morale within the department itself - along with the fact that most of our FF are military and have moved away this year without replacement. But thats a whole new story.... :P

Despite the low #'s, I feel like we have a strong spirit. We are just riding it out until the department gets its act together. Also, we've been able to do some really great things in the past year and the community here is counting on a repeat performance.

To whoever set up this Aux forum - many thanks and hugs. This is fantastic...and long overdue!

Hello fellow auxiliary members!
I'm a member of the Hollywood VFD Ladies Aux. in Maryland. 20 year member. We have approximately 23 members at this time. We have a wide range of ages in our group, from early twenties to seventies. The aux. membership is split about 50-50, with family members in the department and those without. Our fundraising activities consist of a spring dinner, a fall dinner, banquet caterings, bingo refreshements, concession stand at annual carnival and a craft show cosponsored with the Hollywood Rescue Squad Aux. We have a very good relationship with the department. We support them with their fundraisers and they support us with ours. We were chartered in 1958. We raise a lot of money now, but in the early years,we only raised $1000. The HVFD was just as happy to get that $1000 as they are to get the larger checks we give them now. So those auxiliaries who are small and don't raise thousands of dollars, it's OK. What you do raise is that much your department doesn't have to raise.
Glad to see this forum is becoming active!

How about a view from the other side? First, a big THANK YOU to all the auxillaries for the great work they do. I am asst. chief of a vol.dept. that has had an aux. for about 45 yrs.In that time the membership has had its ups and downs. However,I could always count on them to be there from when I was a probie to now as a chief officer.From being at the scene with hot refreshments on below zero nights to helping with banquets or just about anything else they are asked! Yes there are personality conflicts just as there are in the fire dept itself. A suggestion for those having problems might be to have the fire chief or dept president attend an occasional meeting so he has an idea what's going on with the aux. In closing ladies , keep up the good work. There are those of us out there who appreciate what you do,(and I think we"re in the majority),we just don't always remember to tell you.My wife(an aux.member says "It's a man thing."